What Tools Should I Keep In My Car or Truck?

When taking a trip I always take a bag of tools with me to have a peace of mind that if anything happens, I have the tools to deal with the issue. Even a flat tire, or anything else happens, I can go pull out my tool bag and be able to work on it.

The tools you should keep in your car or truck are: a jack (that works on your car),  a lug wrench, a set of wrenches (8mm to 16mm, or 5/16 to 5/8), a set of deep and regular sockets with a ratchet and an extension (sockets same sizes as wrenches), a flat and Phillips screwdriver, a short pry bar or a long, large flat screwdriver, a pair of channel lock pliers, a pair of regular pliers, wire cutters, electrical tape, utility knife (with a new blade), and a hammer.

The above tools is what I have in my car and truck when I go anywhere outside the city. This lets me not worry about what-if’s and enjoy the trip.

You may not have all these tools, and that is ok. I only take all these because I have them and have the room for them. If you don’t, no worries, here is a minimal list of tools that you should have in your car: a jack (that works on your car),  a lug wrench, a set of wrenches (8mm to 16mm, or 5/16 to 5/8), a flat and Phillips screwdriver, a pair of channel lock pliers, utility knife (with a new blade).

When it comes to tools that you permanently keep in the car, they don’t need to be great quality as they will only be very seldom and will not need to have a long life, so you can get away with getting this set of tools from a discount store like Harbor Freight or Walmart. I personally believe in only buying good tools so I don’t do that but you can if you want to. I also don’t keep the tools in the car permanently, but only when I take long trips.

Let’s talk about why you would need each of these tools and details of why I chose them.

Car Jack Is Critical To Keep In Your Car

A car jack normally comes with your car and is made to fit the car. It is important that the jack you have fits your car. There are some weird jacks out there that are out of cars that won’t work on other cars, so make sure that either you have the one that came with the car or that you get one that is universal or will work for you.

A jack like this will work on most unibody cars but a truck or a vehicle that has a tube or c-channel frame will need this kind of a jack because it has a flat plate rather than a bracket that would fit around a body seam. Thinking about this, I would recommend also having a set of wheel chucks to keep the car from rolling when it is jacked up.

A Lug Wrench Is A No Brainer

Unless you have some sockets that will fit the lug nuts of your vehicle, you won’t be able to remove the wheel should you have a flat tire. This is why a convenient lug wrench is nice to have in the car. A cross wrench like this is nice to have because it has 4 different sizes of lug nuts but it also is designed in a way to give you better leverage to loosen the lug nuts.

I personally just use a 1/2″ long breaker bar with a deep socket that fits my lug nuts.

A Set Of Wrenches Is Always Handy

Being able to remove or tighten almost anything in a car requires a wrench of some sort. Wrenches are very versatile, you can even use one as a hammer if you need to, haha.

Like I said earlier, you don’t need to go all out to get the best brand of wrenches to keep in your car. For home or garage, I would argue otherwise but for the car, you may never even use them, and if you ever do, it will probably be for something quick. Chances are they will be able to handle it without a problem.

What I’m saying is that you can get a small wrench set from Harbor Freight or Walmart to keep in the car. Or you can also get a set from Amazon here if you wanted to.

If you choose to get a better brand of wrenches, I will always recommend the Craftsman wrenches. They last a long time and have a great life-time warranty.

Ratchet And Sockets Make It Easier

Taking it a step up you can keep a set of ratchet and sockets in the car. They not only make it easier to remove and install bolts and nuts but also allow you easier access to bolts that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to get to with a wrench.

A ratchet is a mechanical tool that has small moving parts that take a lot of abuse when in use, so even though to keep in the car, you can get away with an off-brand ratchet, I would recommend getting a good quality one.

Again, my choice of tools is Craftsman brand so here is a nice Craftsman 3/8″ drive ratchet that I recommend getting.

When it comes to sockets, unless you are doing some serious prying on it any old socket brand will do the job, so up to you what you get but I still recommend Craftsman. :P

Don’t forget to also get an extension set so you can reach further into places that are hard to get to.

Screwdrivers Are A Must

Ok, screwdrivers are the basics of tools and are a must have. You should have at least one flat screwdriver and one Phillips screwdriver in the car. These will not only allow you to remove and install screws but a flat screwdriver can be used to pry something.

Any screwdriver brand can be used for this, they are all pretty good. I have cheap Harbor Freight screwdrivers from 20 years ago that are still in perfect condition, so just get some and keep them in the car.

A long, large flat screwdriver can be used to do some heavy prying so I always have one of those in the car also in addition to the regular sized one.

Pliers And Channel Locks Are Universal

Sometimes you need a second wrench or have a nut that is bigger than the wrenches you have, this is when a pair of channel lock pliers come in handy. Pliers are universal, just like a crescent wrench, you should have one or two of these in the car.

I carry both, a pair of channel lock pliers and a crescent wrench, and also a regular set of pliers just in case. Let me tell you about my favorite channel lock pliers, they are made by Knipex and I have had them for over 20 years. They are made in Germany and I love these things. They take the abuse and don’t brake. I must have went through 5 regular channel locks in the same time but the Knipex is still in factory condition despite all the abuse I have put them through over the years.

Toll Bag To Put All This Into

A cloth toolbag is perfect for this as it is not ridgid and can be squished between things. I have a Dewalt bag that came with one of Dewalt tools I bought, it is perfect for piling all the tools in when I need to take them in the car and it is easy to carry and store. It fits all the tools very nicely and I like to put it in the storage compartment in the back of my Honda Pilot. Because it is made of fabric, I can easily squish it down and close the lid.

The other items that I listed at the top are pretty straight forward and are optional. Happy trails!